Auditor Report Signals Trouble for Governor James Orengo

A report released by the Auditor General on County Governments, has flagged several projects in Siaya County over severe delays, incomplete works, and mismanagement of funds. 

Among the projects under scrutiny are the construction of Early Childhood Development (ECD) classrooms, the Siaya Town Bus Park, modern markets, water drilling and equipping endeavors, and the construction of a stadium.

Others include the implementation of an Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Management Information System, and the acquisition of land for a Biotech and Research Centre in Yimbo area, Bondo Constituency. 

At Kirindo Primary School, the construction of ECD classrooms was initiated, however, despite payments totaling Ksh 2,570,332 made to a construction company, the project still remains incomplete.  

The installation of steel windows and doors, floor screeding, tiling, plastering, and electrical works have all been left hanging. Even more concerning is the absence of the contractor from the site, with no evidence provided for an extension of the contract.

Auditor Details Stalled Projects in Siaya

In Siaya Town, a similar tale of stalled project is at the proposed bus park. A contract worth Kshs 23,014,867 was awarded to a company with an expected completion date of February 22, 2021.

However, by June 2023, the project had been abandoned by the contractor despite receiving Ksh 17,582,978 in payments.

The narrative repeats itself across various modern market projects in the county. Contracts awarded for the construction of modern markets in Ukwala and Nyadorera markets remain unfulfilled, with incomplete works and expired performance bonds.

Furthermore, the irregular escalation of project costs is particularly marked in the construction of the Siaya County Stadium

Contract variations totaling Ksh 129,567,506 were made without proper recommendations, leading to a project that remains incomplete more than forty-four (44) months after inception.

“Physical inspection of the Stadium in September 2023 revealed that the project was incomplete more than forty-four (44) months from inception. Pending works included sports pitch, main pavilion (substructure, roofing and rainwater disposal, windows, doors, electrical/mechanical engineering services), terraces, Amphitheatre, the installations of the electrical fittings, plumbing fittings and the roof works. The contract period lapsed in July 2023,” reads the report.

Auditor Flags Siaya Stadium Controversy

Equally important to note, the contract for the construction of a stadium was signed on 30 August 2018 between the County Executive and a construction company at a contract sum of Kshs 394,661,767 starting 01 January 2019 to 06 December 2019.

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Further, the contract sum was revised to Ksh 488,716,823 resulting to a variation of Ksh 94,055,056 or 24%.

However, there was no evidence of recommendations by an evaluation committee for these variations contrary to Section 139(1) and (2) of the Public Procurement and Asset Disposal Act,2015.

In addition, a new contract for roof works was entered into separately on 14 September 2022 between the County Executive and an investments company at a contract sum of Kshs 35,512,450.

This, therefore, pushed up the construction cost of stadium to Kshs524,229,273 resulting to a variation amount of Kshs129,567,506 or 32%.

Total payments made to the contractors as at the time of audit stood at Kshs.425,038,687 being Kshs.410,833,706 to the main contractor and Kshs.14,204,980 to the roofing contractor.

Payment Discrepancies

The delayed implementation of the Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) Management Information System is also captured by the Auditors report.

Despite a contract worth Kshs.72,420,000 being signed in August 2021, the system remains under development even after twenty-four months.

According to the report, the discrepancy between payments made and the progress of the project raises doubts about the value for money.

In addition to project delays and mismanagement, the acquisition of land for a Biotech and Research Centre raises red flag in Yimbo area, Bondo constituency.

While the county successfully acquired land measuring approximately 23.99 hectares, the failure to fence or beacon the area poses security risks and the potential for land disputes as noted by the report.

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“However, physical Inspection of the parcel of land revealed that the land was neither fenced nor beaconed making it hard to determine the boundaries. This poses a major challenge of security and risks of encroachment which might lead to land disputes,” read the report in conclusion.

Last Year’s Audit Report Reveals Huge Pending Bills

Earlier last year Siaya Governor James Orengo while presiding over the oath taking of the Siaya Executive cabinet noted that the stalling projects in Siaya were not for the Ex-governor Cornel Rasanga but were prioritized by the public hence must be completed.

“I want to assure the ex-governor that I will not let taxpayers that facilitated the stalling projects go to waste. My teams will assess the status of the projects including the County stadium and will put money towards their completion,” said Orengo.

Siaya Governor James Orengo’s administration inherited more than Sh601 million debt and stalled projects valued at about Sh500 million from the former regime as indicated in the audit report for 2020-21 financial year.